The Leader of the Lower School: A Tale of School Life

Angela BrazilProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.5
Word count
352K words
Chapters
36

Tags

English Originals Children's Literature Boarding SchoolCampus LifeFriendship RivalryGirlhoodGrowing UpMoral ChoiceYouthful VibeGirls SchoolStudent LeaderYouth Reading

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Leader of the Lower School: A Tale of School Life by Angela BrazilAuthor: Brazil, Angela, 1869-1947,Language: English, Class: PZ: Language and Literatures: Juvenile belles lettres, Release Date: May 17, 2009

Editor's review

This work is a school-life story by the English author Angela Brazil, a typical example of boarding-school children's literature. Brazil was known in the early twentieth century for such works, skilled at depicting friendship, rivalry and growth among girls. Centred on the role of the "leader of the lower school", the book presents the collision of school order, peer relations and a sense of responsibility, in a light style with plots close to young readers' everyday experience. As a public-domain eBook from Project Gutenberg, it preserves the original narrative pace and period atmosphere, offering readers a glimpse of early English school fiction. It suits relaxed leisure reading and also serves as extensive reading material for those interested in the history of children's literature or in English learning. Note that the work carries the context of its era, and some ideas may feel distant to today's readers; read it in light of its historical background.

Who it's for

A good fit for

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Reading tips

  1. Read the first few chapters to get acquainted with the characters and school setting, then proceed chapter by chapter.
  2. English learners can note school-life vocabulary and expressions as they read.
  3. Read with Brazil's era in mind to understand the school system and ideas in the work.
  4. For shared family reading, discuss themes of friendship and responsibility.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36

FAQ

What English level is this book suitable for? The original is aimed at young readers, with relatively simple sentence structures but early twentieth-century phrasing. It suits readers with intermediate English who can handle unfamiliar words with a dictionary; beginners may start with excerpts or simplified editions.
What themes does the story mainly revolve around? Set in boarding-school life, the story centres on the role of the "leader of the lower school" and depicts friendship, rivalry and the forming of a sense of responsibility among girls. Readers can see how school order and peer relations shape young people's growth.
Is this book a print book or an eBook? This edition comes from Project Gutenberg and is a free public-domain eBook, usually provided as electronic text for reading on a computer or e-reader, not a paper book printed by a traditional publisher.

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About the author

Angela Brazil Author · British · 1869–1947

Angela Brazil (1869–1947) was a British children's author and is regarded as one of the pioneers of the modern girls' boarding-school story. She published her first work in 1904 and went on to publish nearly fifty schoolgirl novels over her lifetime; twenty-seven of her works are held in this collection, including A Fourth Form Friendship, The Fortunes of Philippa, Bosom Friends, A Pair of Schoolgirls, For the Sake of the School, A Fortunate Term, The Nicest Girl in the School and A Patriotic Schoolgirl. Her stories are mostly set in girls' boarding schools and centre on friendship, rivalry, communal life and growing up among classmates. Her brisk, lively style and attention to her heroines' personalities and everyday school life made her popular with young readers until the mid-twentieth century. Public information on her early education and private life is limited, and her literary contribution lies chiefly in opening up the school-story genre and in her sustained output. She died in Coventry in 1947.